Pastoral Letters for the Feast of St Joseph the Worker

2001 - Living Wage Case - download Word It is fitting that in this centenary year of Australia’s Federation we recall that the establishment of the minimum wage in Australia’s infancy as a nation was one of the features that marked the new Commonwealth as a social laboratory, drawing the attention of the world.

2000 - The loss of entitlements following a company insolvency - download Word It is opportune on the Feast of St Joseph the Worker during this year of Jubilee, to consider the rights of all those workers who have been made redundant by company insolvencies and who have not been paid their entitlements. Theirs is a debt that must be paid.

1999 - The Dignity and Creativity of Work - download PDFWord The feast of St Joseph the Worker provides an opportunity for all of us to appreciate the dignity and creativity of work, and, at the same time, to reflect on the need to provide every member of our community with the opportunity to undertake meaningful work.

1998 - Industrial Relations Now - download PDFWordAt the centre of the Christian story is Jesus Christ, a working man from Nazareth, the son of Joseph the carpenter. On the first of May the Church celebrates the feast of St Joseph the Worker. It is a good time for us to recall the teaching of the Church about the nature and dignity of work, about the rights and duties of workers and employers, and about the role of trade unions, governments, and industrial relations processes and institutions.